Humpback Whale

One of the best-known whale species, they are renowned for their acrobatic behaviour and complex melodious song as well as extremely long flippers and are a special favourite of Dyer Island Cruises guests and crew alike.

Conservation information

Conservation status: Least Concern

Humpback whales have predominantly dark grey to black upperside with variable amount of white un the underside. The flippers are exceptionally long reaching about 1/3 of their body length, depending on the region they are black or white on the upper side.

Photographer advice

They are known to be more acrobatic than any other large whale, so keep your camera ready as you might see them breaching, flipper-slapping or lobtailing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Our whale spotter tells us about the world famous Humpback whale

Where can they been seen?

Humpback whales have a worldwide distribution and migrate between high latitude summer feeding grounds in cold waters near the poles to their winter breeding grounds in tropical waters.

How big are they?

Calves are born at a length of 4-4.6m and already can weigh up to 1t. Adults are 11-16m, whereas females are usually larger than males.

Where does their name come from?

The common name comes from the tendency to arch its back when diving and because the dorsal fin sits on ‘hump’ on its back. The scientific name Megaptera comes from the Greek meaning ‘big’ or ‘great’ and ptera for ‘wings’ which refer to the long flippers of the whale and novaeangliae is from Latin derivation for ‘a New Englander’ because it was named after a specimen found in New England in 1781 (i.e. ‘big-winged New Englander’).

Fun Fact: Humpback whales have bumps so called ' tubercles' on their flipper and head. The tubercles on humpback whales' leading edge of the flipper bio-inspired the design the design of watercraft, aircraft, ventilation fans, and windmills that has commercial viability.